A colorful character, Ol' Jack himself would be, what today is known as a man's man...a manly man...a symbol of rugged individualism.He would not be confused with the coiffed and manicured metrosexal "male" of today. Jack London would not have driven a Volvo! His sense of humor was boyish and impish, but, it was his way with words that stir the pot of the the readers imagination with the fury of a literary tsunami crashing ashore and devouring everything in it's path as it sweeps the reader along on a joyful, dangerous ride of adventure. From the dog days of the frozen north, to the tempest of the stormy seas of Wolf Larsen, Jack lived and wrote about a life overflowing with adventure based on his own days in Alaska, and as a damn proud seafaring son of a bitch.
Born in San Francisco in 1876 at the juncture of Third and Bryant streets, Jack is usually associated with San Fran's half-sister across the bay in Oakland. Labor was no stranger to him as he worked in factories and jute mills, and all this in an age when machines were replacing men as the age of greed dawned and spawned the era of the Industrial Revolution. Hey who wasn't a newsboy street urchin in those days. Jack was, by the age of 10 was hawking headlines on the streets to help fill the family cookie jar. In the factories, the wage was .10 cents an hour and Jack was a member of the working class working six to seven days a week just to get by. Eventually, Jack saw the socialist light, and the bulb was burning hot. To Jack, socialism was the life preserver of the working masses and he embraced it's philosophies until his death.
Once he began writing, there was no stopping this comet of literature that would blaze it's trail across the sky. The "Call of the Wild" was published in 1903. (Sea Wolf was published in 1904.) The Saturday Evening Post purchased it on the condition that Jack would edit it to 5,000 words. A month after publication, MacMillan bought the book rights for $2,000.
The money poured in, and he began to enjoy a life of horseback riding, hiking, sailing on San Francisco Bay, and of course making the rounds to his favorite pubs. After a two year Pacific cruise aboard his own boat, the Snark, he settled into life in Glen Ellen north of San Francisco, among the redwoods and forests of oak. He became a gentlemen mountain rancher, worked on his barn and started to build the dream house for he and Charmain whom he had fallen in love with and married earlier. He regarded farming as "one of the few justifiable, basic and idealistic ways of making a living."
They had a small cottage on the property of the old winery the London's had purchased, but, Jack had plans for his dream house, the Wolf House. Jacks Wolf House began to take form and substance in 1911, designed as one that would last 1,000 years! Once completed the London's were ready to move in until the bad news arrived the night before move in day in 1916 that the house was burning. By the time they arrived it was gone.
Depression sunk it's teeth into Jack and he spent the rest of his life in the original cottage on the ranch As the ranch and farm grew to accomodate his experiments with farming techniques and sustainable living principles, (all new then) bills mounted, and he had to write more ,and work at jobs that took him away from the typewriter. It began to take it's toll on his health and on November 22, 1916 Jack died of gastrointestinal uremic poisoning at the age of 40.
Today, Jack and his wife Charmain are buried on the grounds of the ranch which today is the Jack London State Historic Park. In 1960, ceremonies were held for the new park. The park is 1,400 acres the site includes "The House of Happy Walls" built after Jack's death by his widow to honor him. It is a smaller version of the dream teams Wolf House, and most of the furniture is here that was to be in the Wolf House. Charmain lived here until her death in 1955 with instructions that the house be used as a museum for Jack. Today it is the visitor center and museum for the park. It houses a collection of photo's and exhibits about Jacks life and of course, you may purchase books by Jack London. Jack and Charmian are both buried on the property. They were both cremated and lie in repose under a rock that once belonged to the architectural body of the the Wolf House that is a fitting tombstone for the building that two people so much in love were in love with themselves. Other buildings on the tour include everything from the distillery building to the manure pit! They have docent led talks, hiking trails, lakes and streams, and one trail leads to the summit of Sonoma Mountain.
The Beauty Ranch (Jacks name for the ranch itself) Trail, approximately one-half mile in length, . Between 1905 and 1916, London planted fruit, grain, and vegetable crops in this area, and raised fine horses, pigs, cattle and other animals as breeding stock. Many of the buildings were designed and built by London as part of his effort to develop and demonstrate new agricultural techniques that could be shared with farmers every where.There is no camping in the park but there are nearby facilities to rough it rustic. There are, however, facilities for picnics including barbeque pits.
For an urban taste of all things Jack, make tracks to Jack London Square in Oakland across the bay from San Franciso, there you'll find a dockside cornucopia of shopping, fine wining and dining, bay area cruise rides, exciting nightlife and spectacular views of San Francisco across the way. Tons of bars and saloons to put you in the London mood and one must stop is the Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon. It was opened in 1883 by Johnny Heinold as a saloon. Young Jack London would come to Oakland as a teen and do his studies in the bar at a table, too young to drink, why not study? The building itself was built in 1880 from the timbers of an old whaling ship. Jack wanted to attend the University of California and become a writer. It was Johnny Heinold who lent him the money for tuition. It is today a must-see must-drink stop to socialize, and enjoy the ghosts that may still bang on the bar for a pint.The bar was designated as a National Literary Landmark in January, 1998.
While hiking the trails at Jack London State Park, you may be able to hear the clicking of Jack's typewriter keys, busily banging out tales of high adventure, or you may in the distance near Sonoma Mountain here the howl of a coyote or wolf, sometimes called, the call of the wild. If you do hear it..answer it. You won't regret the adventure.